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Commercial property deals in the US are starting to pick up at deep discounts

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Re: Commercial property deals in the US are starting to pick up at deep discounts

#51

Post by keiferski »

ugh123 wrote: post #37
harha wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or fixing the problem of bad regulation - you can always uplift living standards when money is cheap, right now there's a chance to operate more efficiently, rather than create more debt. One idea would be to convert spaces to something competing with airbnb, with the added value of being near offices.

Do you mean like capsule hotels in Tokyo?

It would be really interesting if capsule-style apartments were available in NYC/SF/etc. I would absolutely pay $300-$400 a month for a permanent (not nightly, like they are in Japan) capsule in Lower Manhattan.

Re: Commercial property deals in the US are starting to pick up at deep discounts

#52

Post by AnthonyMouse »

dexterdog wrote: post #24
SoftTalker wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or change the regulations? That seems a lot easier and cheaper?

The problem is that those regulations are written by people who have vested interests in keeping the supply of residential real estate where it is.

Right, and the solution is to have them written by someone else, e.g. at the state rather than local level.

Re: Commercial property deals in the US are starting to pick up at deep discounts

#53

Post by electrondood »

Animats wrote: post #32
zbrozek wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some local councils around here want to make it a condition of approval that the first floor of mixed-use must remain commercial. Developers want it to be flexible because they can't predict future need. Constraints cost! Euclidean zoning is an unspeakably expensive economic blunder.

Using the first floor of mixed-use buildings being commercial is a huge flop in the SF bay area. Drive down El Camino on the SF peninsula. Look at all those ground floor vacancies, low-end tenants, and oversized "leasing offices" to fill up space.

I think the issue there is actually the cost to lease vs the amount of traffic. On El Camino there's usually not enough foot traffic to sustain a business in one of those locations.

If you go to similar shopping centers like San Antonio in MV, you can see those first floor units are pretty consistently occupied by businesses.

Re: Commercial property deals in the US are starting to pick up at deep discounts

#55

Post by hackerlight »

CamperBob2 wrote: post #38
screye wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Modern urban planners oppose most of the dystopian development seen in the US. What you see here is the stakeholders getting what they want. (Which might not be what they need) Only in this case, the stakeholders are other residents in the neighborhood...not prospective buyers.

No, modern urban planners basically want us all (except for them, of course) living in a modern Kowloon.

It's the opposite. Urban planners have a vested interest in zoning because their career relies on it.

Also, the existence of Kowloon is a good thing. The people who live there would have worse lives if Kowloon was never allowed to build like that. They would be forced to live further away from their work, subjecting them to an hour a day on a cramped train, for example.

The wrong question: "Is X bad?". The right question: "Is X worse than the alternative if X wasn't allowed?".

Re: Commercial property deals in the US are starting to pick up at deep discounts

#56

Post by breather »

epistasis wrote: post #46
breather wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Developers built everything, Well, no, this is just straight-up not true, that's just a description of recent american history.

You must have some weird definition of "developer" then, something that's not compatible with what I'm talking about. Who built all the brownstones in New York, for example? Today, they'd be called developers. What is your definition?

Again, american cities are a small fraction of the world.

Re: Commercial property deals in the US are starting to pick up at deep discounts

#57

Post by tmnvix »

CamperBob2 wrote: post #38
screye wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Modern urban planners oppose most of the dystopian development seen in the US. What you see here is the stakeholders getting what they want. (Which might not be what they need) Only in this case, the stakeholders are other residents in the neighborhood...not prospective buyers.

No, modern urban planners basically want us all (except for them, of course) living in a modern Kowloon.

At least in the US I assumed the opposite. Enormous setbacks, parking minimums to meet the busiest day of the year, extra wide lanes with no dangerous things like tree trunks alongside, etc.

It all looks like some cheap developer got away with something when in fact they know that old-style main streets are highly desirable and would build like that if the regulations allowed.

Re: Commercial property deals in the US are starting to pick up at deep discounts

#58

Post by [deleted] »

screye wrote: post #30
epistasis wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Urban Planning has to be one of the worst professions in the existence of humanity. We were all better off without urban planners, and everything they advocate for and enforce makes the world worse.

Modern urban planners oppose most of the dystopian development seen in the US. What you see here is the stakeholders getting what they want. (Which might not be what they need) Only in this case, the stakeholders are other residents in the neighborhood...not prospective buyers.

[deleted]

Re: Commercial property deals in the US are starting to pick up at deep discounts

#59

Post by Nursie »

nox101 wrote: post #49
Nursie wrote: post #10

Interesting, but predictable. The clamouring for "return to the office" was always a minority voice, and it seemed to be two major classes of people doing the clamouring - old fashioned managers who didn't believe staff could produce while at home, and those who made their living from forced commutes - a broad class of building owners and ancillary business owners such as meal providers. The ancillary businesses I ha…

I'm probably wrong, but I feel like in the style of city that urban advocates like "No Just Bikes" advocate for, there would be lots more "ancillary business owners such as meal providers" because the cities would be designed to be walkable and so instead of driving 3-4 miles to the nearest big box car lot you'd walk 1/2 a mile to your local "pedestrian and bicycle only shopping street" with a bunch of small shops, r…

> Most of "car infested suburbia" is void of "ancillary business owners" because it's just miles and miles of tract homes

This is a planning and zoning decision really. It sounds like you're describing the US.

In the UK for instance, things are often a lot more mixed up. There are lots of small towns and small cities which have acted as feeder or dormitory towns for London. These all have their town centres which are likely seeing a boost from workers who are in the town a lot more of the week now.

And here in Perth (Australia) where I'm not really even in a suburb (we went a bit rural), it's only a mile to my nearest cafe, very easy to do on a bike or scooter. Each of the suburbs proper tend to have one or two areas set aside for retail and food service, small malls or strip-malls or even just a cafe and a pharmacist tucked away somewhere. Plus a decent(ish) network of bike paths. It's very car friendly here compared to the UK but there is still stuff accessible without 100% needing a car.

By the way - I'm all for the 15 minute city idea, it sounds great. Seems to me that implies more local centres, more dispersion of ancillary businesses and services out into the suburbs etc. High-density doesn't have to be the only option for that sort of plan if people are actually spending their days in their suburbs, IMHO.

Re: Commercial property deals in the US are starting to pick up at deep discounts

#60

Post by Animats »

electrondood wrote: post #53
Animats wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Using the first floor of mixed-use buildings being commercial is a huge flop in the SF bay area. Drive down El Camino on the SF peninsula. Look at all those ground floor vacancies, low-end tenants, and oversized "leasing offices" to fill up space.

I think the issue there is actually the cost to lease vs the amount of traffic. On El Camino there's usually not enough foot traffic to sustain a business in one of those locations. If you go to similar shopping centers like San Antonio in MV, you can see those first floor units are pretty consistently occupied by businesses.

That's because those places have more parking.
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